Scarlet Magnolia
by Plarix
Summary: Tenten's brother, Lee, is executed. During the French Revolution, as an aristocrat, she is no longer safe. After the devestation of her brother dying, she tries to save people. Who will save her?
1. Tenten Cried Introduction

I've decided to name this after Steel Magnolias and Scarlet Pimpernel.

My first fic. I've had some experience, but this is my first to post. I promise I'll get all the way through it!

A NejiTenten fic. Rating may change...

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Tenten sat on the love sofa, back perfectly straight, legs together, looking the perfect lady. She sat there and cried. And cried. And cried more. For how long, she didn't know. The maids all avoided her. When she looked up, she saw that it was dark. She must've cried right through supper. _Lee, Lee! How could I go to supper when Lee isn't here!? No, I mustn't cry again… Oh, Lee!_ She stood up, sniffling. Her older brother, Lee, had been executed earlier that day. _How can I go on?_ She slowly walked to her room, dreading what might occur in her dreams.

_Tenten was at the town center. She was in the carriage, or rather, the cage. She was next in line. She looked up. The top of the machine was a dreadful silhouette in the sunshine. She walked up the stairs, seeking pity from the crowd, as if someone would call out, 'She's not guilty! This woman did nothing! Why kill her!?' but no one did. They all shouted for her death. She reached the top step. But what's this? Some one was already in her place. She screamed as she recognized the man. "Lee, no!!!" She yelled, desperately as she ran to him. It was too late. The terrible man standing next to Lee picked up his head. "Long live the Republic!" "Long live the Republic!" came the answer. Tenten fell to her knees, unable to move. She felt a terrible tugging. She stood up, her hair being pulled. They dragged her to the dreadful guillotine, cutting off her long, silky hair that she had been so proud of. She tried to go with dignity, but alas, she couldn't stop crying! 'Why can't I stop??? Why can't I stop?!?' She was slid into the bloody wooden prison. It was where she would be when she died. As the blade fell, she screamed one final time. The still warm blade made contact with her neck._

"-AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!" She panted, exhausted, but fully awake.

"You all right, miss!?" A flustered maid came in.

"Yes, I'm alright. A nightmare is all…" Tenten said, rather faint.

"Oooh, they outta be ashamed of themselves, gettin' a poor pretty thing like you all worked up like that. Nearly scared me to death, 'sides." The maid left, shaking her head sympathetically.

Tenten sighed. No more sleep for her tonight. She looked out her window longingly. _Just because we're aristocrats. Just because we're aristocrats, Lee had to die. Why, Lee?_ Tenten left her room. Lee was all she had, so she didn't need to worry about being indecent in her nightgown. She absently walked into her brother's room. She sat on his untidy bed, running her hands over the wrinkled covers. _"It's okay, Tenten! I'll come back tonight so I don't have to make my bed now!"_ He would say every time she scolded him. "You didn't come back today, Lee…." Tenten said lovingly with tears falling from her face. "I don't know what to do…."

It was not safe anymore. At the tender age of 17, Tenten hardly had really thought that anything could really hurt her. Besides her close friends, it was easy enough to ignore what was going on, but now they got her brother, and it hurt. It hurt terribly.

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R&R everyone!

♥Lala♥


	2. She Woke Up Char Intros

Hey. Second Chapter up. I know, it's not as dramatic or well written as the first, but it's longer and I needed to get some characters introduced. I promise there'll be more action and adventure later. Oh, btw. I figured out why this one sucked. I WROTE IT DURING THE DAY! That's right. I write my best at 12:30 AM. Yep. That's what time it is right now, btw. I think I need to write story line during the day and actual story at night. I'm more dramatic and emo-ish at night. More preppy and peppy during the day. I'm smarter during the day, better vocab at night. See a pattern? Actually, I don't, but it kinda seems like it. Man, I need sleep.

Oh, and be glad! If not for keyboarding class, I would never post this. I type slowly, but I write WAY slower. Now. It used to be: I write extremely slowly, I type _painfully_ slowly. X 10.

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Tenten woke up, her head was rather groggy. _When did I go to sleep?_ She looked around, realizing she was still on Lee's bed. _Lee…_ She sat up, pouting slightly. Sad as it was to admit so soon after Lee's death, she **needed** something to do! … She was, well, bored. 

After going to breakfast, Tenten readied herself to go out, dressing in black mourning clothes. Although she knew she should be mourning, Tenten liked being an optimist. She wouldn't sulk for a long, long time. She tended to be very sad for a while then go out and try to cheer up. After, she would only be sad when someone brought it up.

She sighed. Time to go to her friends. She walked to one of her friends, Sakura,'s house. "Oh, hello, Tenten. Are you okay? What took you so long to come?" Tenten chuckled solemnly to herself. Sakura knew her so well that she was wondering why Tenten hadn't come earlier this morning, after what happened….

"Hello, Sakura. Yes, I'm alright. I just wanted to sulk a little longer before I got cheered up," Tenten teased.

"Well, alright. Meet us at Hinata's house in an hour. I need to get ready." She gestured to her nightgown. "And be prepared to be happy again." She winked as Tenten backed out of the entryway.

Tenten sighed and started to walk around the park, sulking. Her friends would help her. They always did. Ever since she was little, they always knew exactly what she needed.

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"You guys are nuts. You don't know what you're saying." Tenten said in a voice she thought was calm. 

"Believe us, Tenten. You need this," said Ino.

"I need a brother, not a boyfriend!"

"That's what you think. But we know you need one!"

"I do not!" Tenten blushed.

"Fine, fine. Whatever. But are you sure you don't want to see him? He's really hot." Tenten suspected this was Ino's way of getting her to like him. She was determined not to like him. Tenten shrugged, sighed, and followed Hinata.

"Th-this way," she squeaked. Her cousin was in France for a few months to protect her. As  
Tenten followed her shy friend, she pretended to have no interest whatsoever. But she did. They passed the guest room to the main residential part of the Hyuuga manor.

The Hyuugas and Uchihas were the only families in Paris with homes big enough to hold their extended families. Excluding the royal family, of course. The Uchihas were recently turned in for treason by an Uchiha of whom the clan had been proud of. Only the younger brother of the traitor was spared, by Itachi's request. Their friend, Itachi's brother, Sasuke, had sworn revenge after Itachi ran off to join some badass group of the Republic.

They reached a part slightly annexed from the manor. Hinata opened the door.

"N-Neji-nee-san."

"Hn? Hinata-sama." Most of Tenten's friends' families had immigrated to France from Japan though she, herself, was from China. The families had slowly moved over time across Asia toward Europe, each generation moving closer and closer. Most of her family had been lost on the journey. By time they had reached Paris, it was only her great grandparents who had survived. As her friends' families had done, they had climbed ranks until their children were aristocrats. All her extended family were gone and while Tenten and Lee had gotten to go to England for a year because of her privileged social rank and the ranks of her friends, her parents had been struck down by the influenza. Ever since then, she had abandoned her last name, Rock, and lived with only Lee. Her friends' families had passed the Japanese language down the line, but it had deteriorated over time. Mostly they just kept up the formal suffixes; most didn't remember most of the Japanese language. Tenten had picked up quite a bit from her friends.

"Ummo, these are some of my friends. Ino, Sakura, and Tenten, this is my cousin, Neji." She pointed to each in turn. The girls all said hello and Neji just nodded his head and went back to whatever he was doing with the paper on his desk.

_He's gorgeous…._ Tenten flushed at the thought. _No wonder Ino wanted me to look at him…. Well, it's not going to work! I don't like him one bit._ He watched her shake her head at her thoughts as she looked down. Everyone else had left the door way. He snickered.

He walked up to her. "Yes?" She looked up. The girls had already left her and here she was, face to face with Mr. Too-Hot-To-Not-Like.

"U-um-uh—" He stared. And pushed her out the door. Then closed it in her face. "Omigosh." She walked off, muttering something about 'Mr. I'm-Too-Hot-For-You.'

On the other side of the door, Neji grew a smirk as he sat back down. _She's nervous. Ha._

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I know, right? Lots of obvious foreshadowing in that one. Yeah, I'm probably going to make these longer and longer as I go on until they're at a decent size, so be patient. Thanks for the reviews! Such a short chapter with less than a day up and I already got two! Lots of love to halcyonic and Kunoichi Hyuuga Tenten! And I almost just spelled Hyuuga wrong in my fic, so thanks again to Kunoichi Hyuuga Tenten for having the name on her screename. 

R&R

Lots o' Love, ♥Lala♥

PS. Look at my icon! I made it out of the Neji Tenten one. Swizle, eh?

BTW, Please tell me if I have a typo or have misspelled a word!

EXTRA BIG THANKS TO 'RU' FOR POINTING OUT MY FLAWS!!! OOPS, HOPE I FIXED EM WELL ENOUGH... I really hope that cleared up things a bit.


	3. Can't Bear It

Hey! Sorry for not updating for two nights! Good news is that I made a story line in the time that I took off! Yep, that's right! I didn't actually have a story line, so yeah. I came up with it in my keyboarding class. It's pretty awesome. And surprisingly easy to write! Anyway, yeah. Surprise! I know you guys all thought that Tenten got over it quickly, but guess what! She didn't! Owned. All of you. And my plan super worked! I wrote my story line during the day and my story at night. I had written some of my story during the day today, or yesterday, I suppose, for it is 1:46 at the moment. Anyway. I rephrased it at night and it turned out awesomely!!!!!

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Tenten cried. She sat down on her favorite loveseat and kept crying. The plain and honest truth was that she was a crybaby and was afraid during the night. Her friends had, of course, helped during the day, but it was night, and there was no stopping her crying now. She couldn't get over this one. Not the same way she got over her pet dog, Penelope, when she died. Not the same way she got over her parents when they died so long ago. Lee was different. Her only family. She had bonded with him so much. Who was it that soothed her at night when she was scared and the world seemed to fall down around her? Who had helped her get over her parents' deaths? Who would she never see again? _Lee! Why did you have to go? You did nothing. NOTHING!_

Tenten was sobbing, no longer able to weep silently. She hadn't seen when he was executed. Her friends had stopped her. They wouldn't let her go through that torment. She hadn't been to his funeral. Anyone who came was immediately suspected of treason. Not to mention that she was lucky not to be executed as well. Her mind had no evidence that he was dead. That's part of why she couldn't let go. It was as if he had simply gone to London and hadn't returned yet.

She wouldn't be able to go to supper today, either. Her maids would have to eat it by themselves….

Tenten stood to go to her room. She stared at her bed. It sat there coldly. She sniffed. "What do you want?" She asked the bed as if it were real. She sighed. Time for bed…. She tried to get as warm as she could but the whole world seemed cold. It was no use, she decided, as she drifted off…

_At the town center. In the cage. Next in line. She looked up. The terrible silhouette. She walked up the stairs, seeking pity from the crowd. They all shouted for her death. She reached the top step. But what's this? Some one was already in her place. She screamed as she recognized the man. "Lee, no!!! Not again…!" She yelled, desperately as she ran to him. It was too late. The frightening man standing next to Lee picked up his gruesome separated head. "Long live the Republic!" "Long live the Republic!" came the answer. Tenten fell to her knees, unable to move. She felt a sharp tugging. She stood up, her head being dragged by her hair. They dragged her to the dreadful guillotine, chopping off her long, silky hair that she had been so proud of. She tried to go with dignity, but alas, she couldn't stop crying! 'Why can't I stop??? Why can't I stop?!? Why can't I ever stop crying!?' She was slid into the blood soaked wooden prison. It was where her death would be. She looked into the crowd for a savior. No one was seen. Wait, she sees a silhouette. 'What? N-!?' As the blade fell, she screamed one final time. The still wet blade made contact with her bare neck._

"-AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!" Tenten sat up, frightened to say the least. She was rather shocked with the repeat of dreams, though. She touched the back of her neck, as if checking. 'That man, was that…?' Her train of thought was disrupted when she saw three maids peeking into the room, shaking their heads sympathetically. As they left, she became more and more disturbed by the overwhelming darkness. She didn't want to be left to her thoughts.

Tears streaming down her face, she stood up and went to Lee's room again. It was the only place in her house she could take comfort from. She went to his warm looking bed, not daring to smooth out the unkempt sheets. She knew it was a bit obsessive, but she wanted to keep what she had of him. She cried the strength out of herself and waited for sleep to claim her.

"Mistress Tenten! Mistress Tenten! Your friend had arrived! She says it's urgent!" Tenten immediately woke up, startled and concerned. She ran to the front door as quickly as she could.

"Kathrin! You're back from London!" said Tenten, glad to see one of her only friends who were not Asian. Glad to see it wasn't one of friends in trouble.

"Yes, yes, I know, but Tenten! It's really important! It's Sakura! She's been captured!"

"What!?" Tenten fell to her knees. "No. Not Sakura. Under what charges?" Tenten looked earnestly up at her friend.

"Treason of the highest sort. They said that she had an alliance with Asia! How absurd! She hardly even looks Asian!"

"Kathrin, that hardly matters! What is the date…?" It was obvious that both girls had been dreading the question.

"…Saturday next." Kathrin barely whispered. Next Saturday!? Hardly any time! Of course, Lee had been executed that same day they brought him in. All things considered, it wasn't so terribly short.

"No, Sakura…" Tears swelled up in Tenten's eyes. She pulled Kathrin into the kitchen where they prepared a nice lunch for Sakura. After they finished, they were about to head out when Kathrin stopped Tenten.

"Sakura told me not to let you come. You're under suspicion already." She said with a sad face.

"What? There's not a way I'm going to not come! I have to see her! I have to!" Kathrin held a finger to her lip to hush her up.

"No, Tenten. I'll tell you what. You write a letter and I'll make sure she gets it. I'll go everyday if you want. No matter what." She said with a firm face. Tenten sighed sadly, knowing that this was all she was going to get. She rushed into an office space and quickly wrote a note to Sakura.

_Dear Sakura,_

_I can't believe you're in prison. I can't bear the thought. I'll make lunch for you everyday, I promise! But why, Sakura? Please allow me to come visit you. I wouldn't be able to stand it if I never saw your face again. Please consider it. It would mean the world to me. And also, I am sending a quill, paper, and ink, so you had better send a response!_

_With all my heart, Tenten_

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Yeah, I know. An OC. And a generic one at that. But I need her for the story to work. Plus, did you think all of Tenten's friends were Asian? Think again.

And also, I've been thinking, I might want to turn off the anonymous reviews off cuz they're frustrating, but I decided that it would be better to get all the critisism I can, not limiting it to users. And yeah. Emilinia-sama or however she spells that is my best friend. I think she just decided to not sign in or something...? But yeah. I'm happy with this chapter. It got its points across and it was relatively well written.

R&R!

Love ya, ♥Lala♥


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